At long last, details of the Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP) have been announced. Here's the deal...

The Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP) is an online system that facilitates the safe resale of tickets that have been purchased directly from Burning Man. It’s designed to provide a hassle-free, secure way of buying and selling tickets while avoiding scammers, counterfeits and scalpers.

On Tuesday, April 15 at Noon PDT STEP will open to those participants who want to submit their tickets for resale. The following day, Wednesday, April 16 at Noon PDT, participants wishing to purchase tickets will be able to register for STEP.

SELLERS:

Registration for STEP will take place through the Burner Profiles beginning April 15 at Noon PDT for ticket sellers.

Only $380 tickets can be sold through STEP.

The option to sell back Vehicle Passes will be extended after you submit your ticket for resale.

Ticket sellers will not be refunded until their ticket(s) have been sold to another participant.

Refunds will be processed to the card originally used to purchase the order.

BUYERS:

Anyone who has not already purchased a ticket through one of our other sales can register to purchase a ticket through STEP.

Registration for STEP will take place through the Burner Profiles beginning April 16th for ticket buyers.

Availability of tickets is dependent on participants releasing tickets into the program.

As soon as tickets are released into STEP they will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis via email notifications to registered participants.

If you are offered ticket(s) through STEP you will have 72hrs to purchase it before the ticket is released to the next person in the queue.

Anyone offered ticket(s) through STEP will also have the option to purchase one (1) vehicle pass.

There is an additional $6 per ticket STEP fee for tickets bought through STEP. All other usual fees apply.

Ticket orders purchased in STEP are fully transferrable and eligible for name changes.

Ticket orders purchased in STEP are Will Call only. No physical tickets will ship before the event.

trilobyte wrote:They should also join ePlaya, participate in the community, and stay tuned for announcements regarding our ticketing boards.

One doesn't own a computer, so I posted in the "tickets wanted" on his behalf (at his request,) and the other two I notified to join eplaya, read as much as possible on burningman.com, and to join the jackrabbit newsletter.

May modern technology be my friend! Will be travelling interstate in Australia at the time STEP opens. Fingers crossed! on my way to National folk festival in Canberra, the best way to spend Easter. They are looking for more volunteers, should yourself or anyone you know be in Australia wanting a wonderful festival experience

Curious why "Ticket orders purchased in STEP are fully transferrable and eligible for name changes". Doesn't that make it so these tickets can be scalped? Wouldn't it be a better idea to make it that if the purchaser can't use the ticket it must be sold back through the STEP program?

remi wrote:Curious why "Ticket orders purchased in STEP are fully transferrable and eligible for name changes". Doesn't that make it so these tickets can be scalped? Wouldn't it be a better idea to make it that if the purchaser can't use the ticket it must be sold back through the STEP program?

No, it doesn't make it so that tickets can be scalped. It makes it so that if a person's plans fall through and they can't make it, they can pass the ticket along to a friend or campmate, and if things fall through after the STEP close date it means they're not fucked out of being able to use the ticket (as was the case in 2012).

The same terms and conditions apply for tickets purchased through STEP as tickets purchased through one of the other sales.

FossaFerox wrote:Plus STEP tickets are will call only. Who the hell is going to pay a scalper $800+ and take their word that they can show up at the gate with their ID and get in?

I'm not sure, but I can think of a lot of people that would pay 500-600$, and ask for ticket confirmation email as proof, and then verify with the ticket people that the name has been changed. Not very hard.

For clarification, Burning Man does NOT provide ticket verification services. Once the seller has changed the name/order info on a will call order, they'd need to send a copy of the info to the buyer. Also, Burning Man reserves the right to cancel the sale of any tickets it believes were purchased with the intent to sell above face value. The tickets/will call order number would then be voided, and could not be used for entry to Burning Man (and the seller added to a list of known scalpers). If the ticket is voided the original purchaser is notified, it would be up to them to contact the buyer and arrange a return or refund of the purchase. It's quite a risk, best to just not feed the bears.

Just saw the announcement that STEPS is delayed - and wanted to make sure this was both for ticket sellers as well as those looking to register (which is not open until tomorrow) - correct? Just want to be sure I don't miss a very important window.

SarahUK wrote:Just saw the announcement that STEPS is delayed - and wanted to make sure this was both for ticket sellers as well as those looking to register (which is not open until tomorrow) - correct? Just want to be sure I don't miss a very important window.

Cheers

Sxx

It is for both! tickets.burningman.com has been updated and both dates are crossed out for now.

As DragonPilot mentioned, the 21st is when things open up for contributors. An update's been posted on the ticketing page.

UPDATE: Monday, April 21, at 12pm (noon) PDT, STEP will open to participants who want to submit their tickets for resale. The following day, Tuesday, April 22, at 12pm (noon) PDT, participants wishing to purchase tickets will be able to register for STEP.

To those with extra/unneeded tickets, STEP is now open for you to be able to contribute your tickets.

The virtual gates open tomorrow at noon for interested buyers to join the queue.

Assuming that demand is greater than supply, then ticket sellers should see their tickets sold very quickly (once a ticket is offered to someone in the queue, they have 72 hours to purchase it otherwise it moves on to the next person in line). Good luck to everyone involved!

“Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.” - Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)

I tried a Buyers practice run to become familiar with the process...but apparently since I was not a Seller and not recognized as such I could go no further than the Burner Profile FAQ page...is this right?

Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.

dragonpilot wrote:I tried a Buyers practice run to become familiar with the process...but apparently since I was not a Seller and not recognized as such I could go no further than the Burner Profile FAQ page...is this right?

Glad I wasn't the only one...

"Honey you don't want to be in your tent right now. I looks like Burning Man THREW UP in there."

Guess I kinda assume that since tickets were sold through Burner Profiles, they have a record of who actually has a ticket and the page will change tomorrow for those without... just a guess. Can anyone clarify? Trilo?

"Honey you don't want to be in your tent right now. I looks like Burning Man THREW UP in there."